Genesis 1:27–29, Genesis 3:8–13

I. 3 reasons we need to ask the question “Am I taking responsibility for my life?”.

#1 We live in a culture of increasing irresponsibility.

Irresponsibility is celebrated in our culture.

I have the right to do what I want and say what I want but you don’t have the right to hold me accountable.

#2 It’s contagious. Why should I continue to act responsibly when it seems to be more beneficial not to?

Now people profit from their irresponsibility. Why should I miss out on that?

What’s rewarded is repeated.

#3 Every time an individual refuses to take responsibility for something he is responsible for, someone else is forced to pick up his responsibility.

Any time a group, a family, a company, a person, we are talking about personal responsibility, refuse to be responsible it causes conflict.

II. In the beginning . . .

Genesis 1:27-29 - So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.

A. 2 principles we can pull out.

Principle #1: You were created to be responsible.

The first thing God gave you was not rules but responsibility.

We feel better when we have and are living up to responsibility! It is because you were designed for it.

Principle #2: As responsibility increases, the need for regulation decreases.

When people are responsible for their actions the need for rules decreases

B. Perfection didn’t last.

Things go sideways. Adam and Eve break the one rule. And God decides to hold them accountable.

Genesis 3:8-13 - When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

So these 2 principles you can’t get away from. You were created for responsibility and as responsibility increases in society the need for regulation decreases. And unfortunately the opposite is true as irresponsibility increases the need for regulation increases.

III. Irresponsibility creates conflict.

A. Every time you intentionally/unintentionally shirk responsibility, you create conflict somewhere with someone.

This is what starts the blame game. When there is blame there is conflict.

We cause the conflict when we blame. As soon as we begin to explain our way out of it everyone knows what we are doing and it creates conflict.

B. Irresponsibility creates conflict within us.

Where there is blame there is often shame and with that shame comes guilt.

I may convince you. But not me.

You will never reach your God given potential until you crawl back under that weight of responsibility. You were created for it and you have lost part of you.

Home work for this week.

1. Listen for blame. Pay attention to your excuses:External . . . out loud onesInternal . . . self-talk. “The reason I didn’t get on the treadmill. The reason I lied . . . The reason I reacted that was…

2. In every conflict ask: “What part of what happened is my responsibility? How do I take responsibility for what I’m responsible for?”

Conclusion: We live in a culture where irresponsibility is contagious. We as Christians need to be more proactive about it.

You were created for responsibility.

To shirk responsibility is to deny who God made you to be.

You will be neither happy nor fulfilled.

You will create conflict with others and yourself.

So let’s take responsibility for the things our Creator has made us responsible for.